BEIJING, Nov. 1 -- China will adopt a "two launches, lunar orbit rendezvous" architecture for its manned lunar exploration program, senior engineer Wang Xiang on Saturday announced at the 7th Manned Space Symposium in Beijing.

Under the scheme, separate rockets will launch the Mengzhou crewed spaceship and Lanyue lunar lander into Earth-moon transfer orbit. The spacecraft will dock in lunar orbit, allowing astronauts to transfer to Lanyue for surface descent and scientific work.

Wang, deputy chief designer of China's manned space program, said the approach aligns with existing capabilities, standardizes production, and supports a long-term vehicle family. Nationwide resource mobilization, unified standards, and integrated subsystem veri...